Two people have been confirmed dead and 17 injured when an Amtrak train partially derailed after hitting a mechanical digger left on railway tracks outside Pennsylvania on Sunday morning.

The accident was reported at 7:53 a.m Sunday near Booth Street on the Palmetto Train 89 in Chester. The train was operating from New York to Savannah.

All Amtrak service is suspended between New York City and Philadelphia at this time. Updates available at http://amtrak.com/alerts.

Amtrak suspended all service between Philadelphia and New York City.

Amtrak officials said the train struck a backhoe that was on the tracks and the impact derailed the lead engine of the train.

Officials said there were approximately 341 passengers and seven crew members on board. Sources confirm to ABC7 sister station WPVI-TV there were two fatalities. No further details on their identities were known. About 17 people, one of whom was seriously injured, were hurt in the crash.

WPVI-TV spoke with a man on the phone whose 52-year-old mother was on the train. He said she was on her way from New York City to her home in Maryland.

His mother said she suffered injuries to her knees, head and back, but he was able to talk to her on the phone. She told him it was a scary and chaotic scene. She was stuck on the train for some time before being taken out in an ambulance.

Emergency crews are on the scene aiding the passengers at 9th and Langley in Trainer.

Other passengers were directed to the rear hall of the Trainer United Methodist Church.

The Federal Railroad Administration responded to the scene. The NTSB was notified and planned to send a team.